The Fairy Tale of El Bandido

El Bandido restaurant, what a wonder you were to behold.  Located in Spring Valley, NY, this little place has everything a Hangry Foodasaurus could dream of.  We had had some recommendations from our hotel (thank you so much!), but we never expected our experience to be so, well, magical!


We arrived.  We were seated.  We observed:

Tasty Mexican cuisine...check!

Fun and colorful ambience...check!

Kind and attentive service...check!

Price...well, it seemed a little expensive but here's why it was worth it:

We all ordered margaritas and I ordered tamales and my counterparts ordered enchiladas and a burrito.  


They served us chips and salsa.  Everything seemed to be going business as usual until low and behold they brought a cheese quesadilla appetizer with guacamole to our table.  We thought to ourselves...this can't be for us we didn't order an appetizer...hmmm....we gobbled it up quickly before they could take it away!  But, we realized that everyone was getting this appetizer as a part of the meal.  Pretty fantastic!


Then the main courses arrived.  The tamales were in house-made fluffy corn shells unlike I have ever eaten before.  Everything was awesome!  We thought it was over but then they brought us dessert!  We didn't even order dessert, it just came along with the program.  I can't exactly remember the details but it was some sort of crispy, cinnamon shell with bananas and ice cream.  It was just the perfect amount of dessert that your taste buds desire after dinner.


Then the real clincher--AFTER DINNER DRINKS!  Unsolicited, tasty after-dinner dessert shots.  Unbelievable!


We honestly couldn't have predicted that any of this would unfold like it did.  They so far exceeded our expectations that it is almost sad to go to any other Mexican restaurant now because it won't be as impressive.  


In any case, it was a fun way to end a lovely weekend of celebrations and it's always good to to open to happy surprises.  

As a side note:  I promised on my other blog to list the basic recipe we used when making tomatillo salsa.  We discovered that cumin and tomatillos makes that distinct Mexican food flavor--try it!  This recipe is a simple one from allrecipes.com submitted by Kim Binning.  The only thing we changed was we sized everything down as we had less tomatillos + we added a spice blend with chile peppers + we added a small amount of an heirloom red sweet pepper instead of the serrano chile.

Ingredients

• 1 pound tomatillos, husked
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 serrano chile peppers, minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 2 cups water

Directions

1. Place tomatillos, onion, garlic, and chile pepper into a saucepan. Season with cilantro, oregano, cumin, and salt; pour in water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the tomatillos are soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Using a blender, carefully puree the tomatillos and water in batches until smooth.

Breakfast of Champions

In May, my husband and I spent about a week in Bordeaux.  When we travel we sort of like to pretend that we are locals, rather than tourists.  In fact, many people mistook us for being French which we took as a HUGE compliment.  We spoke the language (not well, but we tried) and we basically relaxed and tried to get into rhythm with the beat of the city.


We went out to eat at many wonderful places, but we also enjoyed a lot of picnics at different spots along the Garonne River and in the lovely city parks.  One really cool thing was that the sun didn't set until 10 pm!  I am not kidding--I took a photo one evening of the clock in the square during the sunset because I couldn't believe it.  It is literally a city that doesn't sleep because it's never dark!  


There was a culture for trick roller-bladers, skateboarding, cycling, sailing, strolling and enjoying life.  One really funny thing we noticed is that literally everyone is always noshing on baguette!  It would be unusual if you didn't see someone carrying a baguette (or two or three!) at all hours of the day and night.  We were staying right in the heart of the city so there were always tons of people around shopping, sitting in cafes, playing music, taking photos, and going to and from work and school.  Note: there are 70,000 undergraduates in the area, attendees of the University of Bordeaux.


One of my favorite mornings, I stopped in the city indoor marketplace.  The kind where business people pop in before work and get a quick espresso and older adults have a pastry and espresso inexpensively.  I sidled up to a very, very old woman who was enjoying a croissant and coffee.  The best part was that she was seated at the bar, but in a normal-sized chair and had her goodies resting atop a bar stool.  I gathered that this was her everyday ritual because the barista seemed to know her and helped her set everything up in a very dignified way.  I ordered my espresso and I was amazed that it cost less than one euro.  It definitely wasn't the tastiest, but it got the job done of waking me up. 


While I stood there, I was so thrilled because I could understand the conversation around the bar which was a discussion about the food-borne illness outbreak that the Germans had blamed on cucumbers and other produce from Spain.  I had heard about it in the news and for the rest of the trip was a little wary of my raw salads, but nothing was taken off the shelves so I figured what the heck, I'll eat whatever.  The source of these illnesses never turn out to be what they think it is anyway.  The main thing I cared about was that I could understand French!  


Satisfied and caffeinated, I proceeded to the grocery store (a Carrefour chain place) bought a baguette, a jar of Nutella and some apple juice and I went outside and sat on a bench and enjoyed my breakfast of champions!

A. Andiorio, petit dejeuner des champions!

Since our return from France we realized we were craving a lot more bread and chocolate.  We now have two kinds of chocolate spread for toast which for me has lately been turning into grilled banana and hazelnut spread sandwiches.  


You can try one in Cambridge at Crema Cafe in Harvard Square or they are totally simple to make at home.  Here's what you do if you want to have the most amazing snack ever!  


-Heat your panini grill or pan (like you would use for grilled cheese) on the stovetop,
-Slice one banana,
-Get two slices of delicious bread (classic, French bread or Italian white works best),
-Spread Nutella or your other favorite almond-chocolate or hazelnut-chocolate spread on each side of the bread,
-Add the sliced bananas and panini that bad-boy until the insides are melty and delicious,
-Slice diagonally and get ready to die and go to heaven.  End of conversation.  

Sesame-Garlic Greens with Carrots

All I can say is YUM!  I love when I am working from home and can create whatever inspires me for my lunch.  Don't get me wrong I was slightly sad that there was no leftover pizza for me, however, this encouraged me to think outside the bread and cheese box :)

We have a CSA through Red Fire Farm and this time of year the crop yield is higher so we had quite a lot to work with including:

Swiss Chard (one small bunch)

Carrots (two)

Fresh Garlic (one clove)

Sweet Onions (one stalk greens from a large, sweet onion)

also featured in my meal today:

Bulgur Wheat (1 cup, uncooked)

Organic Tempeh (1 cup chopped)

Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce (2 Tablespoons approx.)

Toasted Sesame Seeds (2 Tablespoons)

Sesame Oil (1/4-1/2 teaspoon)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (1 Tablespoon)

For this simple, vegan dish all you do is cook bulgur according to the directions (1 cup grain per 3 cups water).  Chop tempeh and season with soy sauce and let sit while you chop the other veggies.

Rinse and de-stem swiss chard and chop.  Chop large clove fresh garlic, cut and peel and thinly slice the two carrots, and rinse and chop one stalk of green onions.  Toast sesame seeds in toaster oven--watch closely to prevent scorching!

In large pot or skillet, add olive oil over med-high heat.  Add chopped garlic, saute till lightly browned, add carrots, stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes.  Add swiss chard and continue to saute and stir.  Add a tablespoon of water if needed.  Once everything is slightly softened toss in tempeh and continue to stir till heated through.  Lastly add green onions and stir-fry one more minute.  Remove from pot and toss in a bowl with toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil. Serve over cooked bulgur and add more soy sauce if desired.

See how good it looks for yourself!

ALA, 2011 [Looks gorgeous in a Frog Hill Pottery bowl]

ALA, 2011 [Sesame-Garlic Greens with Carrots]

Red, White, and Blue Slaw

Happy 4th of July everyone!  Hope yours was filled with some important f words including: fireworks, friends, family and FOOD.

I invented a little slaw for the day and I wanted to share this simple recipe:

1 small Napa or green cabbage--or a mix of the two (about 3-4 cups), shredded

ALA, Chioggia beets,  2011

2 small Chioggia beets, shredded 

1/4 cup high-quality blue cheese (I used Valdeon Spanish Blue), crumbled

1-2 garlic scapes (or green onions) chopped

Dressing:   (I am guessing on quantities here, so I recommend you mix and match to your desired taste in a little bowl and keep testing till it's just right)

Vinegar (white wine)-2-3 teaspoons

Extra Virgin Olive Oil-2-3  tablespoons

Maple syrup-1 tablespoon

Salt and pepper

Rinse produce.  Chop Napa or green cabbage into bite-sized shredded pieces or use a grater  or grate setting on food processor.  Chop scapes or green onions with knife.  Wash and peel beets and then carefully grate with a stand-up grater.  Crumble blue cheese with your fingers.  Whisk your dressing ingredients with a fork in a separate small bowl.  Combine everything in a large bowl except for the beets!  Toss well and serve at room temperature.  Right before serving, add beets to mixture, otherwise they will turn the slaw slightly pink.  

Voila!

Here Comes the Sun!

Yikes!  I've been a bad little blogger, but now that I have my inspiration, I'm here to stay!  A  few things have sparked a renewed excitement and interest in eating and cooking.  

1) Swiss Air + a trip to France

2) Cape Cod

3) Red Fire Farm's summer CSA (community supported agriculture)

I have to say it was quite a dreary and long winter.  With a lack of fresh fruits and vegetables I began to rely on baked goods, hot soups and stews, and heavier dishes in general.  I love these foods, but after 6 months or more it gets old.  In the dead of winter (which seems to persist in the Northeast) it is nearly impossible for me to remember what a fresh tomato tastes like or freshly picked sweet corn (not cooked, mind you) eaten directly off the cob.  Ahhhhh summer :)

But now, it's officially here (as of 5 days ago) and the HF is ready for all the veggies and tasty summer treats I can get my claws on!  

First things first.  Our trip to France. There is so much to say about this trip.  However, it all began from the moment we chose Swiss Air.  If you are flying to Europe and you have a choice, go with Swiss Air.  From the time you get on the plane, you are on vacation, seriously.  I usually hate flying (we won't get into this today) but even on the red-eye I was super-comfy in all aspects, especially in the food department.  It is non-stop eating and drinking.  Hot towels, surprisingly delicious coffee, chocolate bars, croissant (you can even get seconds!), and two full meals on a 6 hour and 45 min flight.  

(Side Note: They give you REAL silverware and let you keep the entire beverage bottle). 

 

And the ice cream, oh my.  I literally thought it had crack in it because it was the most addictive substance I have ever laid my taste buds upon!  If I remember the ingredient list correctly it was made with heavy cream, eggs, sugar, gruyere, and some kind of caramelized sugar/toffee center.  I definitely had it twice in one day.  Honestly, I had ice cream at at least 3 different places in France and the Swiss Air ice cream wins, hands down.

I want to save some fun food adventures for another day, so I will keep you guessing what my next post will be about with this parting shot.  Can you guess what it is?  Please post your feedback!

Baker's Dozen Cookies (Chocolate Chunk Variation) by, the Hangry Foodasaurus

For about 4 1/2 years, I worked at a continuing care retirement community as an "activities associate."  Essentially, this means that I planned and led recreational activities for residents of the long term care and assisted living communities.  I quickly learned that nothing boosts morale quite like baking cookies.  

Every Wednesday morning, an elderly volunteer led a cookie-baking group.  By 10:30 am the wonderful scent of cookies baking would be wafting down the hallways--even clear across the building!  It would draw the attention of the residents, staff and visitors.  Only those with the most intense willpower could resist a homemade cookie fresh out of the oven. We had 3-inch thick binder with hundreds of recipes protected by clear plastic sheets to choose from every week.  Everyone had an opportunity to request their favorite cookie to be made in an upcoming session.  "Cookie day" quickly became the highlight of everyones' week and we always made at least 6-10 dozen cookies to share.  


Somehow, that wasn't enough.  When we ran out of cookies--look out!!!  There were some very hangry residents when 3 o'clock tea time rolled around if we didn't serve the expected homemade cookies and had to resort to the dreaded, store-bought varieties.   This cookie shortage was remedied by adding an additional baking day (Sunday morning) as well as an emergency day if needed.  We'd truly created a monster, well, a group of elderly cookie monsters!  


Our cookie volunteer inspired me to attempt my own cookie recipe.  After all the years of practice, at least 2x/wk for 4 1/2 years, I've become adept at whipping up my own cookies without a recipe.  What I have to share with you is my go-to cookie recipe.  I finally decided to write it down after numerous requests from friends and family.  It is so good that we make them at least once a month for dessert.  I hope you like them as much as we do!  Before beginning the disclaimer I will give you is that I have only made these cookies using organic or at the very least natural ingredients whenever possible.  The shortening I use is organic, non-hydrogenated and all-vegetable.  I honestly don't know how they'll turn out without super high-quality stuff.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In one large bowl add:

• Approximately 1/3 cup of shortening 
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar

Crumble above ingredients with fingers until moist.
Next, add one egg, beaten and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla-stir into wet mixture.
Then add below (dry) ingredients to the wet mixture using a wooden spoon and hands if needed.  (no need to dirty another bowl if you want you can just add them into the large bowl)

• 1 cup 50/50 (whole wheat/white) + 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• dash of salt

Lastly, take a block of Callebaut semisweet chocolate and chunk it until you have about one cup.  (The sizes of the pieces will vary, but it doesn't matter)
Mix chocolate chunks into dough.  Form dough balls with two teaspoons or hands and place on one cookie sheet.  We've ended up with anywhere from 9-13 cookies, just depends on your size preference. 
Bake for 8-12 minutes (size dependent) or until center of cookie is slightly firm when you press on it with a finger.  Let cool on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes
Using spatula, slide onto wire racks.  Eat them while they're warm with a glass of milk!
Note: for other fun variations you can use chocolate chips or sundrops.  Have fun!

A recent chocolate chip version, yummy!

Hanger Management

Well, I'm back!  Maybe you didn't know I was gone.  I got hit hard and fast by a flu that left me feeling that the only thing I wanted to do was sleep, eat lozenges and drink hot water with lemon and honey.  Those days are over now and I am proud to say this is the first day I made it through without taking a nap--but the day is young!


One interesting thing to note was that during this one-week period of illness, I didn't experience any symptoms of hanger.  I was rarely hungry, but did get a few cravings for popsicles, toast, soup and ginger ale.  Once the senses of taste and smell are gone, the HF is left to ponder the question, "What is there to life besides eating?"  I guess that's one way to control your hanger (but it isn't very fun)!


You know that weird feeling you get when your eyes become glassy, you have the occasional cough or sneeze and you just feel off?  As soon as I felt it coming on I immediately decided to make some chicken soup and bread.  My darling cousin gave me a wonderful gift for Christmas entitled, The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook, by Dinah Bucholz.  There were some fun recipes I had been meaning to try that were perfect for the upcoming St. Patty's Day holiday.  I made a Mulligatawny Stew and served it with an Irish Soda Bread.  This bread made the most delicious toast to accompany something savory or to eat alone with some preserves.  It was more like a pastry or scone than a bread.  


Irish Soda Bread adapted from The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook


4 C flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t cream of tartar
1 t salt
3 T  sugar
 (4 T) butter (cut into small pieces)
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 C buttermilk (or powdered buttermilk with added H2O)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and grease and flour 9-inch round baking pan/dish.  Glass or metal can be used.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, soda, powder, cream of tartar, salt and sugar.  Rub in small bits of butter with your fingers.  The mixture will seem very floury but that's OK.  
3. With a large spoon, fold in the egg and buttermilk until a dough begins to form. Remove now-beginning-to-form-ball from bowl and knead briefly on floured surface until dough comes together.  Will be a little flaky in appearance.
4. Form dough into a round shape and dust top with flour.  (I used a little wire strainer to get the dusted effect).  Place dough into the prepared pan and using a sharp knife, score with an X-shape about 1/2 inch deep on the top of the dough.
5. Bake for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake another 40 minutes until the bottom is dark golden brown.  Each oven varies, so keep an eye on it.  Remove from oven, and after a few minutes place on wire rack to cool.
6. Yummy served slightly warm.  Makes amazing toast after the first day.  Great served alone, with butter and jam, and also works well with savory soups.   

My friends have been raving about this and saying it tastes like and has texture of a cornbread/scone hybrid.  Since it looks artisanal, it is fun to bring to a potluck!

Makes 1 loaf (and an explosive floury mess in your kitchen, but if you're sick you can leave it and hope your housemate/partner will feel sorry for you and clean up).  It worked for me!